A Barrow County man is seeking restitution for veterinary expenses after a Barrow County Sheriff’s Deputy shot one of his cows.

Deputies were called to a residence on Kilcrease Road after a tenant reported a loose cow in her backyard.

According to the cow’s owner, Eddie Knight, the cow was 275 feet away from the road when a deputy arrived. Knight said the deputy began chasing the cow and caused it to run into the road where it was almost hit by a car. Several minutes later, the deputy fired six shots at the cow because he believed it was charging at him.

Knight said the shooting was not justified.

“You can pet her, she’s a real gentle cow,” Knight said. “I am sure she was upset, but there is no way they are going to convince me that this cow attacked a deputy.”

The 650-lb heifer was struck twice – once in the side of the neck and once in the hip. Knight questions how the cow could have been charging the deputy and been struck on the side of its body.

“It’s something that shouldn’t have happened,” Knight said.

According to the incident report, the deputy was attempting to lure cow back into the pasture when it started running toward Kilcrease Road. The cow reportedly crossed the road twice. According to Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith, the deputy did attempt to get the owner to the scene. At one point, the cow began walking towards one of the deputies who was holding a flashlight. When the deputy extinguished his light, the cow allegedly turned towards the other deputy and began running. The deputy reported that the cow was approximately 25 feet away when he started shooting. The deputy said he ceased firing when the cow turned broadside.

“It started charging him and he drew his weapon and discharged his firearm,” Smith said. “The cow stopped and subsequently jumped back in the fence.”

Smith described it as an unfortunate incident.

“We investigated it and we feel like the deputy was in fear and he defended himself,” Smith said. “That’s about as far as we’ve gotten. We’re still looking into the other ins and outs.”

The “other” includes the cost of treating the cow’s injuries and Knight’s concerns regarding the deputy’s actions.

Knight is seeking $450 for veterinary bills and wants the deputy responsible for the shooting to face disciplinary action for what he calls a reckless shooting.

“Someone inside that home could’ve been hit by a stray bullet,” he said. “There are a lot of concerns for me.”

Smith has agreed to help Knight with his insurance deductible, but said his deputy did nothing wrong.

“We feel like you have a right to defend yourself,” Smith said. “A deputy is worth more than a cow.”

Knight said he worries that Sheriff’s deputies are tasked with dealing with loose cattle and have not been properly trained to do so.

Knight said the Barrow County Cattleman’s Association has provided the Sheriff’s Office with an instructional video explaining how to handle loose cattle, but he does not believe the video has been shown.

“Based on how this happened, I think it’s something they have lying in a drawer,” he said.

Smith said the deputy involved in the incident had seen the video and believed the situation was under control until the cow got spooked. Still, Smith would like to see some changes in how livestock issues are handled in the future.

“We have over 7,000 head of cattle in Barrow County,” Smith said. “I’m going to meet with the Cattleman’s Association on December 15 and we’re going to come up with a different system to deal with this issue.”

That news will no doubt be welcomed by Knight. While his cow will make a full recovery, Knight wants to make sure nothing like this happens again.

“Other stuff they enforce the law on, they’re knowledgeable about,” he said. “They should be about this too. If nothing else comes out of it, I want to get some training for the deputies.”

A bad situation for the cow but even worse for the deputy. I sure wouldn't want to have to deal with all the stuff those guys with the badges and guns have to deal with. Cops seem to be the first ones to get called names, until you need one, then they are the person you are happiest to see.

So Knight wants someone to pay a vet bill for his cow. Isn't that about like giving health care to a death row inmate? Wont this cow wind up in the freezer anyway?

"Its something that shouldn't have happened", said Knight.

Well, Mr Knight, you're absolutely right. Your cow should never have gotten out in the first place. YOU should be responsible for the vet bill and YOU should reimburse the county for the cost of the deputy's time spent rounding up YOUR cow. Be a more responsible cow owner in the futre and ensure that your cows aren't able to wander the streets.

We live right down the road from a couple of cattle farmers. Right after moving here, we were driving down the road, and there were tons of cows in the road. After calling 911 to report the cows, we started trying to get the cows out of the road. Funniest thing I've EVER done. All we had to do was walk behind the cows and they headed toward a pasture. By the time the sheriff showed up we had most of the cows back in a pasture - wrong pasture but a pasture. Cows are extremely easy to herd.

I am glad a couple of the other posters caught the point (by the officers own admission!) that the cow was charging at him from 25 feet away and the officer MISSED him on 4 of 6 shots!!! I have said for the past seven years these guys are better secretaries than anything else: great at getting coffee and writing reports!!!

And, Hey Jud, probably wouldn't hurt to have the department work a deal out with the YMCA for the officers to get a gym membership instead of a raise.

Did anyone even bother reading that the officers had flashlights? How many of you could shoot in the dark six times and actually hit what you were shooting twice? Before you poke fun, read the whole story, not just the parts you want to read!

It's ignorant people like you that give officers a bad name. There are reasons for use of deadly force and a stampeding cow would qualify in my book. All I'm saying is put yurself in that officers shoes, What would you do? Probably the same thing because you saw a 500 lb cow running at you!

He saw well enough in the dark to determine it was charging at him (his own words!)from 25 feet away......I'm sorry. No pass on this one, they are supposed to be TRAINED for this. No different than a pro wide receiver dropping a ball passed right into his open hands. They are supposed to be PROFESSIONALS.

Mr. knight has cows and sometimes horses that regulary get out. Several years ago six of his cows got out at night and two were hit by a truck. One died immediately but the second lingered on. The deputy called to the scene was afraid to shoot the cow for fear of making Mr. Knight angry.The cow finally died but suffered until then. By the way Mr. Knight does not live in Barrow county. His mother owns the land where his cows are. Cows do get out and will usually find their way back in. But fences need to be kept in good repair and checked regulary for trees on them and other problems. Absentee owners may not be as diligent as they should be. Hopefully everyone will learn from this unfortunate episode. Maybe Mr Knight will do a better job of keeping his fences repaired and the taxpayer won't have to pay HIS bills!

Right-on I have known Eddie Knight since we were kids. He has never taken responsibility for anything. He always blame someone else for his short commings, I guess someone else is to blame for not fixing his fences so his livestock won't get out. He lives out of Barrow county now and calls everyone near his mom's place and trys to get someone else to take care of his problems. Talking about treating animals poorly he never feeds or supplies his cattle with minerals. The Sheriff is just trying to do his job, they should look back at all the reports over the past years to see all the problems Mr. Knight has had with his livestock getting out. Farmers need to keep their fences repairs and if they don't they should be fined and we should not pay their vet bill. Eddie has always placed the blame on someone else. Mr. Sheriff stand up for your men.

Sounds like we need to round up the Knights and move them out of town. By the way did they every pay their back property taxes for the last three years. MAN what a bunch of crape. Take care of your own problems don't pass the blame.

There are over 7000 cattle in Barrow County. They are going to get out from time to time, just like dogs and other animals. None of Mr. Knight's cattle have ever been hit by a vehicle, so that poster has a clear issue with Knight and is simply fabricating a story that is untrue. Most of Knight's cattle are Longhorns and not beef cattle, so no, they are not going to end up "in the freezer anyway". If the deputies had been trained on how to handle loose cattle, which is their job like it or not, they would not have created a situation where they shot the cow. The Sheriff Smith has apologized publicly to the Knights and said it should not have happened and agreed the situation was not handled correctly. And by the way, the county condemed the property for the water tanks, its not like the Knight's wanted to sell their hayfields. What they were paid was fair market value for land they didn't want to sell in the first place. The ugly and untruthful comments of some of the posters here is disappointing.

You are right about some of the posters being a little upset. But you are wrong about E. Knight cattle never being hit. Set the record straight they are out hundreds of times a year and two were hit by a car on Carl Bethlehem Rd a few years back and the Sheriff department had to shot them to put them out of their pain. So Mr E. is not as clean as you believe check the police reports.

If Mr. Knight doesn't want this to happen again then he should step up to the plate and take responsibility for his own problems. Cows do get out once and a while but not every day. Mr Knight don't stand behind that, fix your fences, better yet replace those fences that were built by your great grandaddy. I think it is about time for the Knight family to support Barrow County and not be leechs and suck all you can out of the other guy.

Mr. Knight is a model citzen. The Knights have always been responsible. Take a look at their property, fields are always mowed like a lawn, fences are all brand new, I heard they gave Barrow County the land to build a water tank, they pay their taxes on time, lets be honest they pay their property taxes three years in advance. I must be out of my head, dreaming or two shakes to the wind. Perhaps people do change I hope for the better they can not get any worst.

What world do you live in? The Knights sold their land for the water tank!! Have you noticed the fields around the water tank? If you call that mowed like your lawn then I hope your neighbors called code enforcement and you were forced to clean up!!! The Knights have never kept their property neat. If they pay their taxes three years in advance then why were there almost 100 tax bills listed in the paper as past due? Maybe you need to check your facts. It's too bad Barrow county citizens have to foot the bill for the Knights lack of responsibilty.

Way to go!!!! Kick them when they are down (The Knights) it is about time someone stand up to the Knights in Barrow County they live like pigs. How they can stay in business selling property I will never know. I let Ms Knight sell me my last home, but never again. What happen to keeping Barrow Beautiful, someone needs to visit the Knight property and clean it up for Barrow County and send the BILL to the Eddie.

There's this neighborhood dog who keeps pooping in my yard. Can that deputy come over and investigate? Preferably when my family isn't home, what with the bad aim and all.

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